The Mess-about is over and done. Before it's relegated to history, I will try to bring some of the mayhem into focus and put it down on paper before it fades into obscurity. The setting was Sandy Point State Park in Southern Maryland, It is the confluence of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. Our camp area was on the shore of Lake Conoy, an inlet cove just above the Point Lookout Light house. We had floating dockage for the boats near to our campsites.
Some of our captains arrived on Wednesday evening and the bulk arrived
on Thursday. The flies, mosquitoes and hot humid weather beat us all
there. It was wonderful to be able to put faces with the people we have
come to know so well from the interaction here on the BYYB Board. I enjoyed
meeting and getting to know first hand the other members of the crew.
In all honesty the events that I attended were well planned and the group
showed enthusiasm toward them.
The boats ranged from nice looking to some real works of art. It was quite a sight to see over a dozen of the Stevenson designed boats represented.
The Weekender, Pocket Cruiser, Vacationer, Mini-cup and Wing-Dinghy were all there as well as other designer boats, including Karl’s Kayaks! The kayaks made a splash in more ways than one.
The Poker Run was great to watch. The highlight was Mary Norman dunking
Karl in his kayak. Karl spluttered his way back to the surface, cigar
in his mouth, still holding the cards and asked, "How many cards?"
The point of the run is to start with 5 cards and sail to 3 points and exchange cards and then sail back to the starting point. Best hand wins. Dunking the cardholder gets either points or penalty— or so it is surmised? Karl was a great sport about it.
Water and Boats Everywhere . . .
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Making Friends . . .
The community dinner was a real success.
There was roast beef, hamburgers, bratwurst, potato salad, and coleslaw.
It was a great opportunity to just meet and talk and eat.
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Here's Dick Russell roughing it. Yes, that is an air conditioner behind him
Making Sails . . .
The sail symposium that Scott Widmer's uncle, Jim Alsopp of North Sail, gave was very interesting and raised some very useful points about the aspects of making sails and the details about the proper way it works. The discussion went into great detail about the different kinds of Dacron and the best weight for our applications and how they use a computer to make the best pattern and save waste of material.
Pirate Hopefuls . . .
Despite the weather folks endured, The 2004 Chesapeake Mega Messabout was a great success. The wet weather, the bugs, the pirates, the food and the friendship and camaraderie are now relegated to memories.
Stevenson's and Captain Ply . . .
The Stevenson's, Peter and Mike, were quite a hit. It was an honor to get to meet and talk to them after all these years. Yes, they really are as laid back and as nice as they appear in the videos. I discussed at some length the 124% P.C. with Mike and Pete and made some comments about the modifications we made to Angie's rudder.
Journey's End . . .
The end of a journey . . .
The making of a memory . . .
Back Yard Yacht Builders
A non-commercial association of amateur boat-builder enthusiasts.
All our wooden boats are Stevenson designs.